Mostly in response to the recent trades of Harden, Gaudin and Blanton, there has been a lot of talk around here lately of how the A’s are now “primed” to consistently win in the future or in Fremont.  Many have said or suggested it is only a matter of time (Fremont) until the A’s become perennial AL West winners, the Angels become perennial losers, and the A’s even win one or more championships.  Putting aside the real question of when Fremont will arrive (2012?), the recent trades leave me with more unanswered questions than answers and these questions leave me doubting the claims of those who see the future as A’s bliss.  (For the sake of effect I will be referring to “Fremont” and “the future” interchangeably, realizing they are not identical).

Below are a number of questions that concern me greatly:

1.         Who is going to hit and drive in runs in Fremont?

            With all the talk of how the A’s now have the envy of young pitching in the majors and minors, people seem to forget that to win you still have to score more runs than the other team.  As it stands, the A’s currently field 3 legitimate “hitters” that should play and contribute in Fremont: CarGon, Swooney, and Susuki.  Cust does not make the list b/c of his record pace for strikeouts, his apparent inability to hit anything other than fastballs, and his age.  Crosby doesn’t make the list b/c he’s not a hitter.  Barton seems like he’ll never learn to hit. Chavez is too much of a question mark for now and likely will be gone by then.  That leaves holes at one OF spot, 1B, 2B, SS, and 3B (yes the entire infield).  What about the minors? [I am admittedly not as knowledgeable as many here about the A’s minor league hitting prospects].  Do any of the A’s second basemen become good hitters and fielders?  Do we ever get another shortstop that can hit?  Will we be able to field a first baseman that makes us forget about Giambi?  Who takes over for Chavez?  I know many of you might throw out the names Cunningham (OF), Carter (DH?), and Doolittle (1B) but these are just “prospects” no?  I’m tired of prospects (see DJ, Barton) and want some actual hitters.  I remember that Barton was lauded as the best hitting prospect in the Cardinals and then A’s organizations . . .  but look at him now.  And until these “prospects” prove they can hit major league pitching, I’m not ready to celebrate 9 AL West titles in a row. [Like many of you, I think it would have been nice if one of Billy’s trades netted an actual guy that hits ML pitching now].

2.         How good will our young pitchers be?

            I’ll admit most of the time I am really really really excited about the future of A’s pitching.  But how good will these young guns be? To date both Eveland and Smith have shown flashes of good pitching, but is their youth to blame for their struggles or is what we see what we get? Are they still on the learning curve? Will they even be around by Fremont? And how good will everyone else be?  Cahill, Gonzalez, Inoa,  Anderson, and Simmons are all great prospects, but right now just that.  Remember that Dan Meyer was once a great “prospect” also and he’s been all frustration and no performance.  Braden was also touted as a good, if not great prospect and he is not much more than AAAA quality.

3.         Will the A’s even spend money in Fremont?

            Everyone assumes they will, but why?  Because Billy has said that?  Someone even recently wrote that one of the A’s first big signings in Fremont will be Justin Upton. Who knows if Billy will even be around then, he may get picked up by the English Premier League to run a team, and that may now be his dream.  What if the owners simply want to run the team like a traditional business – let’s make some money and turn a profit?  I continue to worry that with the declining value of the dollar in the present economy, Fremont may not mean spending more money.  Why spend it when it means more profit for the owners?  Will the A's stop being a farm system for the wealthy teams of the MLB?  I hope the A's spend money in Fremont, but I have doubts about whether that will ever happen.

4.         Why are so many assuming the Angels will be a non-factor during the Fremont era?

            While the Angels farm system isn’t what it once was, it still is very solid and more importantly it is one of the few franchises that achieves 3 million in attendance every year and has an owner that spends (and overspends) on free agents.  The Angels have shown they are more than willing to follow the Yankee model of success by buying runs and paying top dollar for them.  Why should we assume that they will not buy their way into competing with the A’s?  I for one am not making that assumption.  [And I am also not assuming that Seattle will be a non-factor because even though Bavasi pretty much ruined that team for a few years, it will come back]. 

Because of all these questions, I am not willing to see Fremont as automatic A’s bliss.  And all the talk of it as such evokes sentiments of a “better world, at a better tomorrow.”  I’m not taking that drug and before I feel confident in celebrating the demise of the Evil Empire (Latin edition) I would like to see some concrete answers to these questions.